Alchemist
by ShadowKissedGuardian
Summary: For over a thousand years one secret has kept relative peace between the Alchemist and Moroi. But when a Dark Force moves to uncover that secret, and destroy the world, Sydney and friends must fight together in the final battle for their lives.
1. Prologue

**This is my version of Richelle Mead's soon-to-be spin off series. It's called **_**Alchemist**_** and it's from Sydney, Rose, Adrian, Lissa, Jill, Dimitri, and other characters point of view. After leaving Lissa and her ol life behind, Rose runs into Sydney and a new adventure begins...**

**Synopsis for Last Sacrifice(my version): Rose after being charged with not guilty from murdering the Queen, she leaves with Dimitri, Adrian, and Lissa to find the illegitimate Dragomir. It turns out a supporter of Natasha Ozera's cause murdered the Queen and that Jill is Lissa's sister. They present the proof and facts to the Court and Lissa is to be crowned Queen and Jill the Dragomir princess.**

**While that happens, Rose's budding relationship with Adrian takes a downfall because of Dimitri's return. After a long heat few months of rivalry between Dimitri and Adrian, Dimitri finally admits that he is till in love with Rose, just as she breaks it off with Adrian.**

**Sydney aids in the task of finding the illegitimate Dragomir, but unexpected tensions soon arise when she falls deeply in love with Adrian. Adrian soon realizes that he can't stay with the Moroi, so he gives up his title and leave to be with Sydney in New Orleans.**

**With Dimitri wanting a second chance with Rose and the lose of Adrian, she leaves the Royal Court and her old life behind…**

As Alchemist, we have to keep secrets to and not just from humanity, also form the Moroi. Most have forgotten…but some remember.

Why did we make the pact with the Moroi to protect their secrets?

The whole "back in the Middle Ages our ancestors tried to find a way to turn lead to gold and failed, then found the Moroi instead," is a **lie.******

The truth.

I don't know if I should tell you the truth…it may come back to haunt in the future. 


	2. Called

My cell was ringing in class.

Unbelievable. What do they want now?

I stood up as quietly and unnoticeably as I could be, since everyone was staring at me. My history teacher(also an Alchemist) met my gaze with understanding. School could wait. Saving humanity couldn't. I saw him nod his head as if giving me permission to leave. So I quickly stepped out of the room before my cell stopped ringing. If it was one of my superiors and I didn't answer my phone, all hell would break loose.

Now a days, I just got so tired of people telling me what to do and when to do it. It's funny in a way, though. I never used to ignore orders before. I just… I think Rose got to me.

About a few months ago, after Rose… disappeared, I reassigned my post, and became an assistant to an Alchemist who cleans up Strigoi kills here in New Orleans. Usually in highly populated or huge tourist sites(**do not make me tell you about Disney**)Strigoi appear and are killed regularly, so I'm pretty busy.

Why would I give up my career, my destiny, to become an assistant?

Because I fell in love. It's just that simple.

His name is Adrian. Adrian Ivashkov.

Yes, I mean Ivashkov, a Moroi. He is a Moroi Lord. Well I should say, **was **a Moroi Lord. And he's my boyfriend.

I remember the first time I saw him. I was watching him and Rose on the security cameras while they were in Las Vegas. My mind just saw him and froze. It was like I was already a tuned him… his presence, I imagined, would wrapped around me and hold me through all my hard times. To but it in plain English, I thought he was hot.

An then, when I actually met him, the instant I touched his hand, I felt my body tingle and heat up. I knew, right then, that I had wanted him.

I knew he had felt it too. His green eyes, as green as emeralds, peered into mine, and the world(just for a moment)stopped spinning. The only two people in the room were me and him. I felt wonderful, after all these years I had finally found my…

_Sydney are you crazy_, I thought to myself. _You can't be in love with a Moroi. You just can't! _

The battle was raging inside of me. I didn't know what to do, I was so scared. But thankfully, those few long seconds ended abruptly, when Rose faked coughed to get Adrian's attention. Reluctantly, he turned away from me.

The next few weeks while we were at the Belikov's house(they chose to hide Rose their from the Moroi authorities) Adrian and I began to meet in secret. We didn't have any other choice. I am human, an Alchemist at that, and he's a Moroi, a royal Moroi. Our relationship was even more forbidden than Rose and Dimitri's.

Rose and Dimitri. Even though, those two were fighting, you could still see the flames between them. The sexual tension between those two is undying.

When it comes to believing Dimitri's lies, Rose is so gullible.

I remember what he had said to her, in the church and at the Belikov household.

_Love fades, mine has…_

That was the only reason Adrian would stay with her was because she needed him. And she did. Between almost getting sentence to death for a murder she didn't even commit, and the whole Dimitri mess, the girl was falling a part on the inside, and their was nothing Lissa could do about it.

But what shocked her most of all in leaving was…

…me and Adrian.

We were on a romantic escape. We sat together, with me in his lap and his face buried in my shoulder length blond hair.

He lifted his face close to mine and trailed his nose along me cheek, leaving tingling sensation behind. "I know I shouldn't say this," his sweet breath cooled my flaming cheeks, "…but, I love you."


	3. Visitor

_Did he just say the L word?_

I was frozen on the inside and paralyzed on the outside. Had he just said that to me. I mean, I got the usual giddy, that I always had when he was holding me or whispering in my ear. But the rational side of my brain scolded me every time I snuck out here to meet him in the shadows of the trees. That didn't matter; not now. Of course later it would, when we had to keep our little secret from Rose.

"I know," was all I said at that moment. I didn't want to ruin the warm buzz coursing through my body.

Adrian peered down at me, with those green eyes of his. All I could see in them was undying love. "I'm glad you know. But the question is…do you love me?"

He ran his finger tip along my body; down my curves igniting a fire. "

"Of course I love you. I shouldn't, but I do," I whispered almost regretfully, knowing once I said this out loud, I could never take it back.

His lips curved into that perfect little smile that I love. "That's what I like to hear."

Adrian moved his face close to mine and softly brushed his lips against mine. That was all it took. In an instant, my arms wrapped around his neck and his around my waist. The kiss deepened, and I put all my emotions that I felt into the kiss. And suddenly, the world exploded into love and passion, as we finally decided that their was no going back. There would be no regret to our actions. It was in that split second, that I knew I would spend the rest of my life with him. All the guilt just went away, and all the pain…

"Adrian! What are you doing?" Rose Hathaway said, as she looked at our entangled bodies with a look of pure fury.

I smiled at the memory.

After we had calmed her down, we finally explained to her how we felt about each other. Surprisingly, she seemed to understand. Well, at least, we thought she did. That's why I feel so guilty about her disappearance. It's my fault that she left, and nobody else. Rose kept her word. She never told anybody about us, not even Lissa.

My cell brought me back to reality. It was still ringing. The caller I.D. read: _Adrian._

In an instant, my heart melted. I couldn't be angry if he called, but still, he never called me at these hours of the day. This meant something was wrong. My heart picked up in speed and my adrenaline kicked up a notch. What was causing trouble today? A demon on the lose causing havoc? A Strigoi sighting or a Strigoi kill? Or was it…?

Never mind, it was just my nerves talking. But in my gut instinct, I knew something big had happened.

I answered my cell. "Hey. What's going on?"

Adrian's voice, the one that whispered in my ear at night, said, "Why would you think anything is wrong?"

I sighed. I knew he was hiding something. "Because you hardly ever call me while I'm at school."

I heard him exhale, and I could imagine him running his hand through his brown hair. "You know me so well."

My patience was running thin. "Don't get all cocky. Just tell me what wrong."

"It's just…someone who wants to talk to you. And…" Someone in the background grabbed the phone out of his hand before he could finish talking.

"God, he just takes a long time, doesn't he?" the person said. From the sound of his/her voice it sounded female… and the voice it sounded familiar.

"Lissa?" I guessed.

"No. Right now, she probably in a meeting, with a bunch of Royal Moroi, who need to learn to sort out their issues," she said.

Then, I could place the voice, for I had not heard it in long time. It was the one person who I had regretted hurting with my relationship with Adrian.

"Rose?" I said, aghast. Some part of me was ecstatic that I could hear her, after her being…gone for four months. The other part was scared, and waiting for Rose to scream at me and never talk to me again.

"Hey Sydney! It's your favorite evil creature of the night."

**A note from ShadowKissedGuardian:**

**I've decided to make Alchemist into a five story series. So be looking out for more updates on the 2nd**** novel in the last chapter of Alchemist book 1. I'll keep updating as often as I can, maybe twice or three times at most.**

**Thanks for reading, and keep adding reviews!**

**Here's the summary for my new Vampire Academy fanfic:**

_**What if Rose had been born and raised in Russia, and she and Dimitri were childhood friends? Dimitri's charge, Lord Zeklos, had just been killed, and Dimitri is getting transferred to St. Vladimir's Academy as a new instructor. What he doesn't know is that, right after he graduated and left Rose in Russia(when she was eleven), she got transferred to St. Vladimir's . What happens when they meet seven years later?**_


	4. Secrets Hidden In The Shadows Lissa

_**Lissa**_

I slowly rubbed my temples in slow circling motion to try to keep the headache away. It was hard, mainly because Lord Ivashkov and Lord Conta were butting heads again. We had gathered for a meeting on changing the quorum. I didn't think it was fair for a prince or a princess, such as I was, should have to wait until they reached eighteen to make decisions for their royal line.

"Look," I said, using just a little compulsion, not enough to make anyone notice, to make them stop yelling at each other. For some reason today, I just felt crappy and angry all the time, probably because Rose wasn't here to take the darkness for me, that my strange magic creates.

It was the day right after they let her out, when she decided to run off for no apparent reason. Everything, I think was staring to go great for her: She got Dimitri back, she wasn't going to get executed for killing the Queen, her relationship with Adrian ended without major heartbreak.

Right after the trail, with announced that Rose was not guilty, everyone rushed out of the court room to the courtyard, to hear about Dimitri's experience as a Strigoi.

Everything was going great, until Rose came out. In my head I silently urged her to _please go away_, thought the bond. I saw make eye contact with me, and stayed at the edges of the group. Dimitri paused when he saw Rose come out and an expression, sadness or relief, came strongly on his features.

A Moroi woman was asking, "How did it feel, once you were a dhampir again, about all the sinful wrongs you committed? What was the one thing you regret most of all?"

Dimitri's unfathomable expression followed Rose, as he ignored the woman.

Reece tapped Dimitri on the arm to get his attention, and after a few tries, Dimitri finally turned his attention to Reece. "I'm sorry. Would you excuse me for a moment?"

He though the crowd, which part for him, and he made his way in the back towards Rose. When he reached her, he pulled her hair out of her eyes, and tipped her chin uo, so that she looked directly into his eyes. Her stoic façade, deteriorated a little, but she kept it in place. The closeness between them was obviously just too much to indicate that they were _just friends._

"Ms. Dragomir?" My assistant, Jacqueline, brought me back to reality.

"Yes?" I said.

_Deep breathing_, I told myself. just because I had to but up with their royal bullshit, doesn't mean I get to snap.

"A _Guardian Belcose_, would like to speak with you for a moment."

_Now? _"But I'm afraid I'm busy at the moment, as you can see." I said sarcastically. I would have killed to get out of there.

Jacqueline nodded her head in silent agreement. "But Miss, I'm afraid she says it's of the utmost importance."

Yes, a free card out of jail. "Okay, tell her I'll be with her in a few." I turned to face the others. "I'm sorry. We'll have to continue this another time."

_Or_ _never_, I silently prayed.

I gathered my things, and walked as fast I could, to get out of that hell.

Guardian Belcose was a tall man, with dark curls, around his late thirties, and incredibly hot(for someone of his age. Don't tell Christian I said that.

I tucked my blond hair behind my ears to make myself seem less frantic. "What was it that you wanted to discus?"

He folded his arms, his mouth went into a grim line. "It's about your family…how they died?"

The old numbness that I used to fell when the subject of my family came up returned. "What about them? They died in a car accident." I stuttered.

He leaned forward, then slowly glanced behind him as if someone were listening.

"That's not completely true. You see, your family wasn't killed in a car accident as you and Rose were told."

The next words he spoke made my blood run cold.

"They were killed by Strigoi."


	5. The Turning Point

_**The Turning Point -Chapter 5**_

_**Sydney**_

I just stood their like a total idiot, my mouth hanging open and everything, when I heard Rose on the other end. "Is it really you?"

"Yeah, I'm pretty sure it's me," she said sarcastically.

The utter relief that I felt washed away, and instead came fury. "Stop acting like that! Where have you been?"

She sighed on the other side of the phone. "Around. You and Adrian keep bugging me with that question."

I grinned. "That's our Adrian. Always so worried about his women."

"Yeah, that's for sure." I could hear the smile in her voice, and I knew we were back to being good friends. "Look," her voice suddenly turned serious, "there is a reason I came. I need you check out something about my past."

My eye brows went up. "What about your past?"

"How I died."

_**Lissa**_

"What?" I was shocked. How could he make up such a cruel lie about the deaths of my family! They were good people(except for my father cheating) and they deserve to be remember in a peaceful way. Not like this. Never like this.

"But Your Majesty, it's true. The Guardians didn't want to tell you until you were ready."

My breath caught in my throat, and my eyes teared up. I shook my head back and forth, my blond hair whipping around like a mad woman. "No, that's not true."

Guardian Belcose looked at me with a certain expression that I had grown to know well through out my life: pity and sympathy. "It is true."

"No it's not." I said firmly, deciding then that I would reject anything he had to say. But somewhere deep inside me, I felt the rightness of it. That what he actually was proposing was true. I asked him one question that I was dying to know. "Does Dim-Guardian Belikov know about this?"

He firmly shook his head. "No."

A large wave of sadness wash over me. My voice trembled. "Why would hide this from me?"

His eyes looked down, ashamed. "It was necessary at the time."

I suddenly realized that I was acting like a big baby. I was making him feel sorry. I shouldn't have showed my emotions so clearly. So I raise my head and rolled my shoulder backward, trying to look powerful, just like Rose would do. I looked him straight in the eyes with the fake maturity that I could muster.

"How did you hide this from me and Rose?"

_**Sydney**_

I stepped out of my car as quickly as I could to reach the front door of my house. Reaching my hand into my simple black purse, I fished for my keys until I found them, and slid the key into the lock and whispered the one word that would open the door to an Alchemist's house.

Opening the door, I peaked around the edge of the door so I could see Rose. And there she was, sitting on my couch with her long brown hair pulled back in a pony tail, and a backpack swung over her shoulders, as if she were ready to dash of at any second. When I came in, Adrian looked up and gave my a huge smile. He stood up as I strode towards him with a huge smile on my face, and wrapped my arms around his neck, and pressed his lips against mine. It quickly turned hotter with every passing second. The familiar fire pulsed through my body, were his fingers trailed against my skin. His scent of cloves surrounded me, and made me want even more. Well… that was until Rose cleared her throat, and gave us an amused smile.

"You two are cute, but you seriously shouldn't get all physical when you have company," she said. She pretended to sound disgusted and shielded her eyes, but the kind of friendly familiarity on her face showed me she was kidding.

I grinned at her and said, "I've missed you."

Her brown eyes widened. "Oh really. I thought I was an evil creature of the night."

I rolled my eyes playfully. "It seems I was wrong. You know… since I'm making out with one all the time."

She shot me a strange look. "Okay…TMI." She pushed her hair out of her eyes, since it kept falling out her pony tail. "I have some serious question to ask."

"Okay." I leaned back and kick up my legs across Adrian's lap. "Ask away."

She leaned forward, pain and curiosity mixed with some sadness was etched in her face. "Like I said over the phone…it's about how I died. It turns out I was killed by a Strigoi and the covered it up by-"

She never got to finish her sentence. Why?

Because a pair of Strigoi just happened to crash through the windows, splattering glass all over the floor, which also meant I had a big mess to clean up afterwards. Rose quickly shot up and pulled out a silver stake, in her hand and surged onward towards the fight. She looked back at me. "Stay were you are." Rose said it with such a protective gleam in her eye and a strong mask of strength, that I nearly fell off the couch. When did she become so mature?

I stood up. "No Rose! You don't have to do anything, I got this-" The Strigoi Rose had been fighting had somehow gotten around her and had tried to chomp on my neck.

Rose grabbed the Strigoi by the his shoulder and swung him away from me, hitting the wall. That didn't keep him down though. He sprung up so fast, that it was just a blur to me, and he darted around Rose again and came at me again.

"I'm gonna kill you, you little witch, after what you did to me last time," he snarled at me. My fear pulsed through me. I wasn't sure if I was ready to kill a Strigoi. Alchemist, physically, were weaker then dhampir's, but our magic was strong.

I had fought this one Strigoi last week, but my fear had gotten the best of me and he ended up getting lose. I guess he was still pissed after what I didn't to him last time. I was trying out a new spell, that my father had taught my the day before. It was used to incinerate a Strigoi with, what seemed like a flick of your fingers. It turns out it is much more complicated than that. It takes a sense of balance between your psyche and body, which is kind of hard when your face with a certain death. But this time, I knew I could let my fear get the best of me. I had to kill this Strigoi this time, or he would keep trying to kill me.

Rose was blocking his line of attack, which for others would have been good, but for me, it was in my way of killing this guy.

The Strigoi and Rose collided, and took turns exchanging blows, until he caught her arm and locked it behind her back, causing her to crumple to the ground for just a few seconds, at most. But those few seconds were enough. The Strigoi came at me with the force of two trucks, but before he could smash into me, I felt the magic build up in me. It pulsed in waves of heat. I though of what I wanted to happed, and redirected the magic to flood form my fingers.

"_Incinte,"_ I yelled and the magic turned to flames, and it engulfed the Strigoi, causing him to fall to the ground, twitching in agony.

I waited a few long minutes, with Rose looking me in total shock and Adrian looking worried if I over used my magic today. When I was sure that the Strigoi was dead, I let the magic go and all that was left was never ending silence.

It was Rose who broke the silence.

She looked at me with shocked eyes.

"What _are_ you?

_February 19, 1150_

_It is finished._

_All the lies that have been kept hidden, and the truth of the other beings existence. I promised them, myself, safety from those who hunted them in the night, and shelter from the disasters of Mother Nature. And yet, a night ago, I was one of the ones plotting their demise. This all changed until I met her, Anna Hathaway._

_One of them._

_- From the Lost Pages of St. Vladimir's Journal_


	6. Monster

"In the end of it all, it was love that conquered all"

- St. Vladimir, From the Lost Pages of St. Vladimir's Journal

It's hiding in the dark

It's teeth are razor sharp

There's no escape for me

It was my soul, it was my heart

No one can here me scream

Maybe it's just a dream

Maybe it's inside of me

Stop this monster!

- "Monster" by Skillet

Chapter 6

Dimitri

I still felt as if I were still in the deep hole, filled with hopelessness and never ending eternal pain. But talking about my experiences as a Strigoi just brought out the pain of it all, not take it away. But Vasilisa suggested that if people could see into my head, get a taste of what it all was like, then they wouldn't be afraid of me. But I always argued back, that they should be afraid of me. I was afraid of me; afraid that somewhere deep inside of me, some part of the Strigoi, still lurked in my soul, and at any moment it would consume me and dominate my being. But since this was all Vasilisa's idea, I consented in an eager fashion.

It occurred on the day of Rose's trail, after they had announced her not guilty. Swarms of Moroi and dhampirs, gathered to ask questions and to listen to what I had to say. All the while, in the back of my head, I wondered why would they want to know such pain, as the pain I carry. Why would they want to have known the sinful wrongs they have done, when they had no control? Why would they want to hurt the one person they will always eternally love?

One question made me stop in my tracks. It was asked by a distant cousin of my dear friend, Natasha Ozera. "What was the one thing you regret, most of all, doing while you were a Strigoi?"

I froze. I couldn't answer. To most others it would seem as if I were thinking hard, due to the look of disgust that entered peoples faces. I quickly glanced at Lissa, who could see the burning agony of remembering.

The one moment I regret the most was…

Hurting Rose.

I will never be able to forgive myself for what I did to her. I abused her and then drank her blood like she was some blood whore. But she's so much more than that. Rose is like… there are no words to describe her. She that wonderful…and she doesn't deserve me. As I, don't deserve her.

Before I could answer Rose stepped out, and a wave of silence spread across the room. The woman was trying to get my attention, but all I saw was Rose. I asked to be excused, and I walked towards her, the crowd parting before me like the Red Sea.

I finally reached her and she ignored me by letting her hair fall in her beautiful face and not meeting my eyes. I touched her face, her skin feeling like silk beneath my finger tips, and tilted her head up, so she can meet my eyes.

Rose was afraid to look at me, and I couldn't blame her, especially after all that I've done to her.

"Are you okay?"

She didn't answer.

"I know you have every reason to hate me, yet you still found me worthy of saving."

The air hitched in Rose's throat. "But I didn't save you, Lissa did."

"She only carried out the final task of saving me, but it was you who planed it all. Lissa only saved my soul, because she did it for you." I said.

The crowd had grown silent and was listening to every word we said.

"I just wanted to thank you." I said.

She looked deeply into my eyes, and I could feel the warm spread into my body.

She gave me a weak attempt at a smile. "Your welcome."

I could feel gravity pull me toward her, and once I did this in front of everyone, there was no going back.

I leaned in and softly kissed her lips. She stiffened with surprise, but then relax and kissed me back. The electricity cackled between us, and she put her arms around my neck kissed me deeper, until the fire could not be contained any longer.

We kept kissing, no matter the exclaims of the Moroi and dhampirs. It was at That moment, when I didn't care.


	7. Stranger

**Lissa**

As he finally explained the truth to me, I saw the truth flash before my eyes.

Literally.

Guardian Belcose said that he was taking down the barriers, and letting me see into the truth.

And what I saw frightened me.

**Olympia, Washington**

**3 years ago**

"Mom, please, can we take the car out for a spin," I begged her. It just wasn't fair. Just because I knew how to drive didn't mean Rose shouldn't know either.

Rhea Dragomir, my mother, shook her head, her blond curls falling out of their bun. "Oh, why not."

Me and Rose turned towards each other, and screamed in silent joy.

"But I have to come."

Our excitement dropped.

"Are you serious?" I had asked in my snooty little voice. Back then, you wouldn't have been able to tell me from any other royal, unless you really knew me. On the outside, I acted like a stuck up bitch, but on the inside I was caring and full of light.

We were staying at our vacation house in Washington for the holidays, and my mother had asked Rose to join us, since her own mother had abandoned her when she was younger. I had never tried to bring the topic up with Rose, since she was always so sensitive about it, even though she tried to hide that she really did care a lot more then she let on.

My mother placed her hand s on her hips and gave me mock attitude, "Yes I'm serious."

I opened my mouth to protest even farther against her absurd rule. "But-"

My mother shook her head. "It's against the humans laws for a fifteen year old to be driving without a licensed driver in the vehicle." Her voice carried a certain firmness that indicated that was the end of the conversation.

She turned towards Rose, and Rose looked up to her as if she were the mother she'd never had. I felt the silent jealousy, boil up inside me. "Would you mind telling the Guardians that we will be out for a short while."

The obvious connection between those two was undeniably strong, that I couldn't even break it. And in a lot of ways, it was really sad. In time like these, I wish Rose just could feel what I felt. I wished, so hard every night, that my mother would pay attention to me like that, but it seems she's always ignoring me. Like my mother had wished she had Rose for a daughter, and not me.

Rose shook her head eagerly, her long brown hair falling over her shoulders, in wispy strands. She took off down the hall, her hair streaming behind her. I glared after her, and once Rose was out of sight, I turned my glare towards my mother. "Really mom?"

She finally, for once, turned toward me and gave me that innocent look. "What?"

I gave her an exasperated look. "Really mom, 'what?'."

She knelt down so we were face to face, her eyes took on a warm glow that I had never noticed before. "I have to be the mother figure in Rose's life. I can't just leave her to have no one to be there for her."

All of a sudden I felt stupid. _Why hadn't I thought of that before?_ I looked my mother in the eye, our green eyes locked in silent understanding.

I looked down, ashamed. " I understand."

Rose appeared from around the corner, breathing hard. "I told them."

Mother's expression turned mischievous. "Okay, let's go." She looked around behind her as if expecting someone to jump out. "Just don't tell your father, Lissa. He'd freak."

I watched my mother walk down the hall, up the stairs, and into her bedroom to get her keys, not knowing I would never see her again.

We waited for a while before we noticed it was all to quiet in the house.

I looked to Rose. She just looked back at me, getting my silent message, and responded by a shrug of her shoulders.

My expression turned to unbelief. "What if something's wrong?" I said aloud.

"If something were wrong, we would know?" Rose said, trying to comfort me.

A few more minutes passed, and my patience grew thin. "I'm going upstairs to check on her." I told Rose.

"Are you crazy? What if something _is_ wrong? You could be killed." She grabbed my arm to force me to stay.

I shook off her hand. "I'm going anyway." I tried to sound like my mother, firm and strict, to get my way.

Rose shook her head. "Where did you learn to be so stubborn?"

I raised my eyes brows. "Your kidding, right?"

Rose rolled her eyes and raised her hands in a sign of surrender. "Fine. Go up there by yourself."

I felt relief rush through me. I won't be able to live with the fact that Rose might die because of me.

"-but," she continued, "if I hear you scream once, I'm coming up."

I shook my head in a sign of confirmation to the deal we agreed on and walked ahead without looking back.

**Sydney**

"What are you?" Rose asked the one question I dreaded anyone asking me.

I cocked my head to the side to look at her better. "I'm an Alchemist," I said simply.

She rolled her eyes. "You know what I mean. What are Alchemist?"

Adrian walked over to her and helped her up. "I'm not sure your ready to know," Adrian said gently.

"Don't talk to me like that!" Rose snapped at Adrian. He backed up several steps and stood next to me, and wrapped his arms around my waist, and automatically I rested my head against his shoulder.

Adrian was right after all. Rose shouldn't know about me, not just yet. Especially everything she'll have to go through in the next few months.

Everything she knew was about to change.

**A Stranger In The Darkness**

There was a stranger standing outside, who witnessed everything. Of course, it was her who arranged this. She had come up to the Strigoi and compelled it to attack Sydney, then have her destroy it. What she hadn't expect the Strigoi to do was track Sydney down and have Sydney killed it in front of Rose today. It had happened all to soon.

But no matter. Candice would make it work to her advantage. All that matter was that she finished her task, and found Rose Hathaway.

Candice stepped back into the shadows and pulled out her cell phone, and dialed her father, who was also her boss.

"Did you find her?" a faint Middle Eastern voice answered the phone.

"Yeah, I did. And I also found the little witch too."

"Good, good," Candice's father replied.

"What should I do now?" Candice asked. She just couldn't wait to get to the next step of the plan. "Should I call Janine?" Candice suggested.

"No," the voice on the other end was forced. It was obvious he cared for Janine.

"Just wait and watch, I'll be their soon. We can't have my darling girl get to close to the truth," Abe Mazur said.

Candice Hathaway shook her head in silent agreement, even though her father couldn't see her. Candice would do whatever it took to protect Rose, even though she had never met her before.

Rose was her sister after all.


	8. My Soul To Take

_**I'm so so sorry I haven't updated in a while, mid-terms and all. So I typed this up this morning and hope you enjoy! **_

_** - Happy holiday! (and please review!) ShadowKissedGuardian**_

_**Sydney**_

I stood at the edge of the door, hesitant to go in. "Rose," I said, peeking around the door at the person who was lying in the bed. My mother had thought it was appropriate to let Rose stay in the guest room, even though she was going to kill me because we now had a _Moroi and a dhampir _in the same house. "Are you okay?"

Her eyes slid across the room and over to me, narrowing in suspicion. "I'm fine." She turned her back to me, and did not face me for the rest of the prolonged silence.

The silence suddenly filled the room, obvious to both of us that the tension was great. I was the one who broke the silence. I stepped inside and closed the door behind me. "I know your wondering what's going on here.. and with me. But the first thing you need to know is that you can trust me. I'm your friend... I would never hurt you."

I kept me distance, wondering what was going on in her head at that very second. If I was her, I wouldn't want to be near me at all. Not without answers. And I was about to give them to her.

She craned her neck to look back at me. "Trust you? How can I trust you when I don't even know what you are?" she said, her voice shaking.

At that exact moment, I noticed all the changes in her, since the last time we met. Instead of the carefree and spunky attitude of the dhampir I met in Russia, the girl before had matured. A lot.

But the most noticeable was her physical appearance. Her skin had grown paler, almost as pale as a few of the Strigoi that I had encountered myself. The thing that stopped me in my tracks was her eyes. Instead of the choc late brown she got from her father, who I might add is just freaking creepy, her eyes had gone red. And not red as in blood-shot, red as in the color of Strigoi's eyes.

I pushed my shoulder length hair behind my ears as I stepped closer. "Are you sure you're alright? You don't look...well."

The closer I came, the farther she backed away. "Just stay were you are."

We both just looked at each other, as if we could unlock the secrets that lie inside of us both.

Rose hesitantly leaned back into her original position. "Tell me. What the hell is going on here?"

"What do you want to know?"

Rose leaned forward, her brown hair falling into her face. "What are you?"

I opened my mouth, just about to tell her the truth about everything. Where Moroi come form, how intertwined the Alchemist are to the Moroi. How that one stupid mistake, created by a Alchemist named Ana, created the evil race of Strigoi.

Before I could answer her question, I had to know one thing. "Why did you run away?"

She looked away, ashamed, I guess. "I had to-it's just to complicated. With Lissa and the bond."

I bit my lip nervously. "Are you sure it wasn't Adrian and me?" The guilt of stealing her boyfriend, and then lying about it behind her back for months later, had never disappeared.

She shook her head. a small smile formed on her lips. "No. Actually, I'm happy for you two. And besides, I have Dimitri."

Okay, that I didn't understand. She had a best friend and a boyfriend. Why would she leave that all behind? I guess she could see from the look on my face that seemed to question her sanity. Didn't she know that Dimitri was lokking for her everyday, in anyway that he could without leaving Lissa?

"You know how Spirit can turn Strigoi back into their original state?" she asked.

I nodded my head, not sure of where she was going with this.

"Well we never did full research into the aftereffects."

"What kind of aftereffects?" I asked, surprised by this new development.

Rose continued to stare at the wall, as if she could burn a hole right through it. "I tried telling Lissa, but she wouldn't listen, because she's busy being Queen and all. But I think I know the aftereffects."

I waited for the answer.

"For every Strigoi restored, a bit of my soul is taken away," she shook her head sadly. For the first time she actually met my eyes, and I could see tears start to fall over like waterfalls.

"It's too late to reverse the damage. I barely could grasp my soul. I feel empty all the time. I come here thinking you could help me, but instead I find this freak show."

I snorted. "Freak show?"

She actually stared to laugh, her eyes twinkling all the while. But as she told me the frighting truth, the world seemed to stop spinning.

"I think I might be turning into a Strigoi."


	9. The Truth

**I am soooo sorry I haven't updated. My life has been kind of hectic with test every other day, but you guys still love me! Please(times ten) review this chapter, and I promise I will put a lemon in =)**

**- shadowkissedguardian**

_**Sydney**_

My shock gripped my body, making me stand and stare at Rose. She raised her eyebrows at me, waiting for me to say something. Anything. But the adrenaline pumping through my body: making my heart pound and my palms sweaty told me to run. Run away from the danger. And that danger was Rose.

Instantly I backed away, one foot behind the other, to the door that was right behind me. Suddenly a gust of wind came from the direction of were Rose had been standing. though, somehow, she was not there.

"Sydney," a voice came from behind me. Shocked and scared, I spun around an nearly jumped out of my skin at who was standing behind me. It was Rose. On impulse, I backed away from her and in a shaky voice I said, "How'd you do that?"

Her mouth dropped open in genuine shock. "Did you somehow miss the whole I'm turning into a Strigoi thing?"

I rolled my eyes. "How can I forget?" AS if that made my nerves go down. I was alone in a room with a potential Strigoi. My eyes hesitantly traveled up to meet Rose's blood red eyes. "What do you want with me?"

She met my eyes, and smiled warmly. Well, I mean, warmly for a Strigoi. Or soon-to-be Strigoi. "All I want to know is, what's going on here?"

"Well then, have a seat." I glanced up at her. "I swear, if you try to hurt me, I will kill you."

I made sure she could see my eyes, the warning in them. That she could see I was more dangerous than I looked.

Rose nodded her head in mutual understanding.

"Well let's see..." I thought back to all the teaching my father had taught me about the Alchemist. Usually, the oldest inherits the job as Alchesmist, but my father had felt that my older sister, Bree, couldn't handle it. I'm pretty sure the fact that my father treated Bree like dirt, and me like I was some king of golden girl, really pushed her on edge. It hurt me so much to hear her cry every night in her room becuase of our father. Always I had wanted to comfort her and confront him about it. But I was so scared that he would start treating me like he treats Bree. Like a worthless waste of space, I believe he once called her. I feel so guilty ow she ended up.

I snapped back to reality. I couldn't think about her now. I wouldn't.

I regained my focus and started the truth.

"The Alchlemist are a group of humans with special powers who obviously help the Moroi keep their existence a secret from normal humans. You have to understand that we are only a small section of _my kind._Most of my kind are against helping the Moroi. We feel as if we need to repay a debt."

"What kind of debt?" Rose asked.

"You know the Great Wars the happened like a thousand years ago?"

She nodded and said,"Yeah. the ones between the Moroi and Strigoi."

"See that's the lie created by the Alchemist and the Moroi to keep the truth hidden. the truth is the Strigoi didn't even exist back then. The War was between the Moroi and the Wiccans. That's the name of my people. Witches and Warlocks can suffice. This War started because of a forbidden love between the famous Moroi Vladimir and the Wiccan princess, Ana."

Rose looked stunned. "As in St. Vladimir and Shadow kissed Ana? Ana was a dhampir?"

"Yes, but before she was a dhampir she was a Wiccan. They randomly meet in the street one day and fall in love, not knowing each others identity. They both kind of guessed they were from different worlds, and knew they could never freely be together. So they kept their relationship a secret.

"As their relationship bloomed, they found out the truth about one another, but they didn't care. Soon people began to find out and question Ana's authority and right to the throne. The Wiccans tried everything to keep them apart. But as this progressed, the Moroi found out the secrets of the Wiccans and the forbidden relationship. And becuase of this, they went to war. Ana and Vladimir were devastated. Then she went into the Dark Magics. She ignored every warning from St. Vladamir. She gifted him with a unique element that came to few Moroi. Spirit. And in that Last Battle was when it destroyed her. It turned her into a monster. She killed thousands of innocents and the Alchemist saw the danger. the bound her in dhampir form and killed her. Vladamir, being a love struck idiot brought her back to life using Spirit. But that couldn't undo the danger. During the Last Battle, she had created a creature almost as cruel and heartless as her. She created the first Strigoi. And Ana herself was the first _Shadow Kissed_."

Rose looked stunned when I was finished. "How do you remember all that stuff?"

I shrugged. "Read his real journals, not the fake ones we gave to the Moroi."

"The dark Magic that influenced Ana...Is it still around?" Rose asked.

I froze in mid-step and turned to face Rose. "You know there are worse things out there than Strigoi."

I turned towards the window and thought of Bree's presence, accusing me. Pushing me into guilt.

"Trust me."

_**Bree**_

So the little runt actually told her the truth. Amazing. Sydney's never done that, even when I still lived in the same house. I stepped over the bushes, and peered at the girl, who herself, was standing outside the house like a total stalker. I could see her clearly from where I was standing. Her wavy brown hair cascaded to her waist in ringlets, her olive toned skin smooth and preety, and the dim light showed her preety dhampir features. But the one thing that labled her as a decendant of Ana was her eyes. The soft chocolate brown that was lit up with couriousity. the girl was talking on the phone; from which I overheard was her father on the other end, and still kept a careful eye on the house.

Damn it.

How was I supposed to kill Sydney and kidnap her dhampir friend while somebody was watching the house.

The girl hung up her phone and was still watching the house when I cleared my throat. I stepped out of the shadows so she could see me.

I tilted my head, as if trying to see her better. "What are you doing outside of my house?"

She opened her mouth to come up with some lame excuse, since she thought I was one of them. _An Alchemist. _As if! The Moroi destroyed our pepole for some stupid reason.

I stopped her before she could talk. "What's your name?"

She looked at me as if I were crazy. In a way I kind of am. But she answered my question anyway. "Candice. Candice Hathaway," she looked at me warily, "Why do you want to know?"

I smirked to myself. "Just asking?"

This girl was _so _stupid.

Candice had no idea what was coming next.


End file.
